From “Taiwan Independence” to “Hong Kong Independence”: How Hong Kong Followed the Steps of Taiwan on the Road of Separatism

Abstract

In November 2015, during the Fifth District Council election, some candidates publicly put forward political program of “Hong Kong Nation”; on 8 February 2016, a riot broke out in Mong Kok, which later disclosed by the media, was plotted by radical nativism groups; on 21 April 2016, the young and mid-aged democrats in Hong Kong released a Resolution on Hong Kong’s Future, alleging that the political status of Hong Kong should be determined by Hong Kong people by “internal self-determination”… All these signs indicate that “Hong Kong Independence” is not limited to “venting of emotions” and that “Hong Kong Independence” has evolved from an aimless trick to a well-targeted separatist movement. The wolf of “Hong Kong Independence” is really coming! Ever since the rout of “Umbrella Movement,” the appeal for “true democracy” fell through; some radical democrats turned to separatism, hence the establishment of all sort of pro-independence organizations and miscellaneous “Hong Kong Independence” slogans and theories. To be fair, the outburst of “Hong Kong Independence” has only been a few years. Whereas, these slogans and theories of “Hong Kong Independence” are of little novelty, just a few decades ago, the same kind of theory and movement were just as popular in Taiwan. As a matter of fact, by comparison of the theory of “Hong Kong Independence” with that of the “Taiwan Independence,” we can see the great influence of the latter on the former. The point of studying the separatist theory in both Taiwan and Hong Kong, or inspecting the “demonstration effect” of “Taiwan Independence” on “Hong Kong Independence,” lies within, for one, by comparing and revealing the similarities in the two: we could invoke the past experience in fighting “Taiwan Independence” to refute “Hong Kong Independence”; and for another, by disclosing the difference between Taiwan and Hong Kong, we could show the irrationality of “Hong Kong Independence” following the steps of “Taiwan Independence,” which contributes to the correction of “Hong Kong Independence” discourse.